2– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Verily faith is that which is embedded in the hearts, whereas Islam is the means by which marriages, inheritances and safeguarding blood take place.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 26, no. 3]

حقيقةُ الإيمانِ / The Reality of Faith

الإيمان

FAITH

3– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Faith is not
[acquired] through embellishment or wishing. Rather faith is that which is pure in the heart and is certified by actions.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 69, p. 72, no. 26]

6– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Every thing has a reality, and a servant will never reach the reality of faith until he acknowledges that whatever afflicts him would never have missed him and whatever has missed him would never have afflicted him.’
[Ibid. no. 12]

7– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘A servant will never attain the reality of faith until he is angered only for the sake of Allah and is pleased only for Allah. When he does that, he truly becomes deserving of the reality of faith.’
[Ibid. no. 99]

12– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘A servant’s faith is not true until his confidence in that which rests in Allah’s Hand is more than that which rests in his own hands.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 103, p. 37, no. 79]

17– One of the infallibles (AS) said, ‘Faith is all action, and the statement is but part of the action that Allah has made mandatory, which He has explained in His Book.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 38, no. 7]

19– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Whoever sincerely says: ‘There is no god but Allah’ (lÁ ilÁha illallÁh) will enter Paradise.’ He was asked, ‘And where does the sincerity of it
[i.e. the statement] lie?’ He said, ‘In guarding it from what Allah has prohibited.’
[Ibid. no. 205]

20– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘
[The statement] ‘There is no god but Allah’ will benefit whoever recites it until he depreciates it. And depreciating its right is when sins are openly committed, and they neither prohibit them, nor do they change them.’
[Ibid. no. 223]

21– Imam al-Kazim (AS), when asked about the grave sins and whether they expel one from faith?’, replied, ‘Yes.’
[And when asked about other than grave sins], said, ‘The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘An adulterer would never commit adultery whilst still a believer and a thief would never steal whilst still a believer.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 69, p. 63, no. 7]

22– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Three qualities, when present in an individual, will complete his faith: a man who does not fear the reproach of an admonisher for the sake of Allah, who never shows off in any of his actions, and who when faced with two matters, one for this world and the other for the Hereafter, he chooses the matter of the Hereafter over the world.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 43247]

23- The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘A servant’s faith is incomplete until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself, and until he fears Allah both in times of jesting as well as seriousness.’
[Ibid. no. 106]

24– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘A servant’s faith in Allah is not complete until he has five attributes in him: complete reliance upon Allah, entrusting
[his affairs] to Allah, submission to Allah’s will, contentment with Allah’s decree, and patience in Allah’s tribulations. Certainly one who loves for the sake of Allah, hates for the sake of Allah, gives for the sake of Allah, and withholds for the sake of Allah has in fact completed faith.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 10, p. 177, no. 77]

28– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘A servant cannot attain the reality of faith until there exist in him three attributes: learning the religion, good
[i.e. economical] assessment of his living expenses, and patience in sufferings.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 239, no. 78]

32– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Faith has about seventy branches, the best of them is the statement: “There is no god but Allah”, and the lowest of them is to remove obstacles from the path. And chastity is a branch of faith.’
[Ibid. no. 52]

34– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Certainly faith is ten levels, like the rungs of a ladder, where each rung is climbed one after the other. The one on the second rung cannot say to the one on the first: ‘You are nothing’ until he completes the ten. Therefore do not knock the one below you down, lest the one above you knocks you down. And when you see one below you in rank, lift him up to your level with gentleness. And do not burden him with that which he cannot bear lest you break him, for verily one who breaks a believer must put him back together again.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 45, no. 2]

الإيمانُ المُستَقَرُّ وَالمُستَودَعُ / Steadfast and Temporary Faith

41– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘A part of faith is that which is firm and steadfast in the hearts, and another part is that which remains temporarily in the hearts and the breasts up until a certain time.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 189]

ما يُثَبِّتُ الإيمانَ / That Which Consolidates Faith

42- Imam al-Sadiq (AS), when asked what consolidates a servant’s faith, replied, ‘The thing that consolidates it in him is piety, and that which takes him out of it
[i.e. faith] is greed.’
[al-Khisal, p. 9, no. 29]

44– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Three qualities which, when present in a person, enable him to savour the taste of faith: that nothing is more beloved to him than Allah and His Messenger, that to be burned in the Fire is more beloved to him than to denounce his religion, and that he loves for the sake of Allah and hates for the sake of Allah.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 72]

46- Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘A servant will never savour the taste of faith until he knows that that which afflicts him would never have missed him, and that that which has missed him would never have touched him, and that the only One to induce harm and benefit is Allah, Mighty and Exalted.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 58, no. 7]

47- Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Man will never taste the reality of faith until he possesses three qualities: understanding of religion, perseverance in calamities, and a good assessment of his income.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 71, p. 85, no. 29]

ما يُخرِجُ الإنسانَ مِنَ الإيمانِ / That Which Removes One from Faith

50– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The most basic level of infidelity is for a man to hear a fellow brother say something and memorize it for future use against him in order to shame him with it. Those are worthless people indeed.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 77, p. 193, no. 11]

المُؤمِنونَ كَالجَسَدِ الواحِدِ / The Believers Are As One Body

59– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The similitude of the believers in their mutual love, affection and compassion for one another is as one body – if a single limb ails then the rest of the body suffers in insomnia and fever.’
[Musnad Ibn Íanbal, v. 6, p. 379, no. 18408]

65– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The believer likes others and is well-liked by them, and there is no good to be found in one who does not get along with others and whom people do not get along with. The best of people is the most useful from among them.’
[Ibid. no. 679]

67– The Prophet (SAWA) said, describing the believer, ‘
[He is] subtle in his movements, sweet to look at… he seeks out the loftiest of matters, and has the most outstanding moral ethics… he is not prejudiced against he whom he does not like, nor biased in favour of one he loves… he is hardly a burden, and instead is very helpful… he perfects his actions as if he is being watched, lowers his gaze, is liberal in his giving, and never turns away a beggar… he considers his words carefully and guards his tongue… he neither accepts falsehood from a friend, nor rejects the truth from an enemy… he only learns in order that he might know, and he only seeks to know in order that he may act… When he travels with worldly people, he is the smartest of them, and when he travels with the people of the Hereafter, he is the most pious from among them.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 310, no. 45]

68- Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The believer is such that his joy is evident on his face whereas his sorrow is in his heart. His breast is at its widest
[i.e. biggest heart] but his ego is at its lowest. He despises high rank and shuns reputation. His grief is long-lasting and his ambition is lofty. His silence is much and his time occupied. He is grateful, extremely patient, and immersed in deep thought. He is thrifty with his needs. He is good-natured and mild-tempered. His soul is firmer than steel whilst he
[i.e. his ego] remains lower than a slave.’
[Ibid. v. 69, p. 410, no. 127]

72- Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The believer is he who protects his religion by putting his world at stake, whereas the impudent one is he who protects his worldly affairs by putting his religion at stake.’
[Ibid. no. 2160]

74- Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘The believer is a great helper, and a very light burden. He is good at economising for his livelihood, and is never stung twice
[i.e. never makes the same mistake again].’
[Ibid. p. 241, no. 38]

76- Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘The believer is he whose earnings are pure, whose character is beautiful, whose conscience is clean, who gives away whatever is surplus from his wealth, and guards whatever is surplus from his speech.’
[Ibid. p. 235, no. 18]

77- Imam al-Ridha (AS) said, ‘The believer is not a believer until he possesses three qualities: a practice
[characteristic] of his Lord, a practice of his Prophet (SAWA), and a practice of his guardian (AS). As for the practice of his Lord, it is to conceal secrets; the practice of his Prophet (SAWA) is amicableness towards people; and the practice of his guardian (AS) is patience in both times of ease and difficulty.’
[Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 442]

79- Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Verily the believer is stronger than pieces of iron, for when a piece of iron enters the fire it changes, whereas the believer, were he to be killed then resurrected and then killed again, his heart would never change.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 303, no. 34]

نورُ المُؤمِنِ / Everything is in Awe of the Believer

80- Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘The believer is he whom all things fear, and that is because he is empowered by the religion of Allah, and does not fear anything. This is the sign of every believer.’
[Ibid. p. 305, no. 36]

82- Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘He has not kept His earth free of a knowledgeable man whom all of creation need, who is well-versed with the means of salvation. Such
[people] are very few in number, and Allah has expounded this among the communities of the prophets, and made them the example for those to come after them, when He said concerning the people of Noah: “And none believed with him except a few”
[ Nur al-Thaqalayn, v. 2, p. 358, no. 90]

83- Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘The believing woman is scarcer than the believing man, and the believing man is scarcer than red sulphur, and who from among you has ever seen red sulphur?!’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 242, no. 1]

85- Imam al-Sadiq (AS), when he was asked, ‘How does a believer know that he is indeed a believer?’, replied, ‘Through submission to Allah and satisfaction with whatever joy or
[source of] annoyance comes his way.’
[Ibid. v. 72, p. 336, no. 24]

فَضلُ مَن يُؤمِنُ بِالرَّسولِ ولَم يَرَهُ / The Merit of One Who Believes in the Prophet without Having Seen Him

88– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The faith of one who has seen me is no great wonder, but what is truly amazing is for the people who have only seen pages with black
[ink] on it
[i.e. the Qur’an] and have believed in it from beginning to end.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 34582]

89– The Prophet (SAWA) said, exclaiming, ‘When will I see my brothers?!’ to which they replied, ‘Are we not your brothers?’ He said, ‘No, you are my companions. My brothers are those who believe in me without having seen me, and I am filled with longing for them.’
[Ibid. no. 34583]